


O, Full of Scorpions Is My Mind! (Autistic!Scorpia One-Shots)

by Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: (Not Scorpia), (That's Entrapta), Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic!Scorpia, Canon Autistic Character, Disability, F/F, Ignoring Hordak, Let's make Autistic!Scorpia a thing!, Multi, Neurodiversity, Sorry Hordak fans, This just in: local scorpion woman is too pure for this world., autistic Scorpia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread/pseuds/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread
Summary: Random Shakespeare quote? Check.Wanting to write about Scorpia getting the love and appreciation she deserves? Check!Let's make Autistic!Scorpia a thing. :)6 chapters going up over the course of 6 days!
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Kyle/Lonnie/Rogelio (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 39





	1. Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: the following beginning note is one Autistic person’s take on Autistic!Entrapta. No harm is intended by this talk, but I wanted to explain my stance, which I have not seen much of within the fandom.
> 
> It’s not that I don’t like Entrapta. I don’t like that Entrapta is Autistic.
> 
> It’s a strange paradox, you know? Being so hungry for Autistic representation and then not being happy with the representation you’ve got.
> 
> First of all, yes, Entrapta is canonically Autistic. And, more importantly, an Autistic writer on the show was the “go-to” for Entrapta, so it’s not like the idea was some kind of mandate.
> 
> So that’s a good thing. So why am I not happy with the Autistic representation?
> 
> 1) I’m unhappy with how Entrapta’s alignment was depicted. It is a pervading stereotype that Autistic people are detached from people and only like machines/animals/non-humans. I think there is truth to that stereotype—in that Autistic people can gravitate towards non-humans because they are easier to understand. That does not mean, though, that Autistic people feel no loyalty towards other people. I understand that Entrapta felt abandoned when left behind by the Princess Alliance, but that alone should not be enough to prompt her to switch sides to the group that she has been told all her life are “the bad guys” (the Horde). EDIT: Yes, Entrapta may have been holed up in her castle for who knows how long, so she may not have had much of an opinion on The Horde, but she saw how the weapons she was developing for The Horde was hurting people.
> 
> 2) I’m unhappy with why Entrapta changed sides. Her reasoning was because she could do better research with The Horde. That’s it. It’s not even like she had established a real friendship with Scorpia, Catra, or Hordak at that point. It was just for the sake of her special interest. Like, I have a special interest too, but I’m not going to join an occupying power just because they have the new Pokemon game. :c
> 
> 3) I’m unhappy with Entrapta’s relationship with Hordak. I suppose this is more of a Hordak thing than an Entrapta thing, but since Entrapta/Hordak is a canonical relationship, I feel like I must address it. Hordak, after being spurned by Horde Prime, was entirely left to his own devices. He chose to conquer Etheria. (And he has free will. It’s not like he’s a mindless robot.) Unlike characters like Scorpia and Catra, who grew up only ever knowing that serving The Horde is Good ™, the creation of The Horde was his decision. No, the reveal that he is “defective” clone does not excuse his actions. And, yes, I get the physical disability/invisible disability pairing, I understand the symbolism, but stop giving dictators romantic interests!
> 
> 4) I’m unhappy with Entrapta being the only (canonical) Autistic representation in the series. These issues would be mitigated if there were other Autistic characters to show the depth of Autistic experiences. Maybe this other Autistic character(s) could be foils to Entrapta, in the way that, say, the “healthy relationships” theme of The Princess Rebellion is a foil to the “unhealthy relationships” theme of The Horde. EDIT: Another problem with Entrapta being the only canonical Autistic representation in the series is that I feel like it made the creators wary of showing her being "in the wrong." Handwaving Entrapta's actions, though, is belittling: It presents the idea that no one ever pushes her about her actions because they think she is not capable of understanding why her actions were wrong.
> 
> So I raise you… Autistic!Scorpia. Why Scorpia?  
> 1) She’s consistently depicted as awkward.  
> 2) A theme of her characterization is her earnestness, even when she’s been hurt (a foil, perhaps, to Entrapta switching sides after getting hurt by the “abandonment” at The Fright Zone?).  
> 3) She’s my favorite character in the series. Let's make this a thing. :)

Feelings are complicated.

Scorpia knows that this is not just a  _ her _ thing, but she does know that it is a her thing not to know the difference between an angry face and a sad face. (They’re both bad faces, she knows that, and bad faces need hugs, but, sometimes, the hugs just make things worse? That’s usually when they’re angry, but sometimes it happens when they’re sad.)

She knows it’s a her thing because they say things like “Why would you hug me when I’m  _ clearly _ feeling angry!?”

Catra is the one who has said that to Scorpia most recently, but Catra’s angry and sad are  _ especially _ hard to read. Glimmer says that The Horde makes people “emotionally complicated”—no, wait, “constipated”! The word was “constipated”! It’s a poop joke!

It’s not a joke, though. Feelings. Maybe they are if you get them and you laugh, but you can’t laugh if you’re not sure where the joke is.

Not like she has any experiences with that.

Jokes are complicated.

But jokes come from feelings, so feelings are  _ more _ complicated. Entrapta understands. Scorpia knows that Entrapta doesn’t understand some things, like just because  _ you _ know where you’re going doesn’t mean everyone else does, but she understands that.

Sometimes, Scorpia thinks Entrapta is the only one who understands.

So that’s why she tells Entrapta that she doesn’t love Catra anymore.

No, no! Not in the “let’s be friends” way! In the “let’s be  _ girlfriends _ ” way! Because, at some point, Scorpia wanted to be Catra’s girlfriend. In the Crimson Wastes, she really thought they would be…

“But Catra already has a girlfriend,” Entrapta said. “Adora.”

“I know. So it works out. I just… wanted to tell you.”

And then Entrapta said something really smart. Entrapta  _ is _ really smart—sometimes, Scorpia isn’t sure if everyone knows that because Entrapta has admitted that she has a hard time with friendship, and friendship is  _ really important _ to Princess culture, she’s learning—but she freely confesses that she’s smarter with bots and tech than feelings.

Entrapta said, “Shouldn’t you tell  _ Catra _ that?”

And she is  _ absolutely _ right! She did ask Catra out on a date that one time—OK, several times—and what if she’s still thinking about it?  _ What if she’s thinking about it while she’s on a date with Adora? _

No, no! This can’t go on! She is brave, strong, loyal, and she gives great hugs! And if she’s going to be the best friend she can be, she can’t lead Catra on!

Scorpia lives in Bright Moon right now because The Fright Zone was wrecked by Hordak and Catra having a fight then her and Mermista and Spinrella having a fight and then the continued fighting about what to do about The Fright Zone now, which they keep saying it’s up to you, Scorpia, you’re its Princess, which,  _ no _ , the Princess she was a kingdom of is  _ gone _ -

Oh, wow, deep breaths. Sometimes, Scorpia’s own feelings get complicated, even though they’re hers, and they make her body get all tight and she needs to click her pincers and she knows her tail gets twitchy the way it does the split second before the sting and she really wants her stuffy but if she’s going to be the Princess of The Fright Zone or whatever it is going to be, she can’t walk around with a stuffy!

Outside her room, anyway. She’ll go back to her room after this. Just… this first.

Scorpia opens the door to Adora and Catra’s room. Yes, they share a room. That is how much of girlfriends they are. They are laying in one bed together. Like girlfriends. Adora turns around, arms still around Catra and looks at her.

Sadly?

Sadly!

Scorpia peers over Adora. Ah. That is why Adora is sad. Catra is sad! Catra is sad when she is having a Bad Day. Well, that is one reason why people get sad, but Catra’s Bad Days are more bad than most other people’s bad days.

Catra told her, as they all settled into Bright Moon, that a doctor at Bright Moon said her brain had gotten hurt from her time in The Fright Zone. Scorpia doesn’t  _ think _ her brain got hurt in The Fright Zone, but maybe that’s why feelings are so complicated for her?

Maybe that’s why she doesn’t want to go back? Because The Fright Zone could still be hurting people’s brains?

Oh, but she’s being a bad friend, thinking about herself, when her friends are  _ clearly _ feeling… bad!

“Hi there, Wildcat. You having a bad day?”

Catra groans something unintelligible into the wall, then turns around. “Oh, no, you don’t need to look at me if you don’t want to-”

“I  _ want _ to look at you, Scorpia. You wouldn’t come here, barging past the sign that Adora and I are resting, if you didn’t feel like you were in trouble.”

“There was a sign!?” She scurries out of the room and reads it, because she  _ can _ read, just not very fast, not like she needs to prove it or anything, it was just a rumor, you know, back in the day, in The Fright Zone, before she was Princess of it—before she was a  _ Force Captain _ of it. She ambles back in. “I have read the sign!” she reports. “It says that you and Adora are resting, so I shall take my lead! Er… leave!”

“Scorpia,” Catra says in that way the governess said when she caught Scorpia walking around with her stuffy outside for the first and last time. “You’re clicking your pincers.”

Is she? Is she? She is. “So? I click my pincers a lot.”

“Yeah. You click your pincers a lot  _ when you think you’re in trouble _ .”

Oh, wow, she’ll really be in trouble now if she doesn’t tell the truth! “I don’t want to date you anymore, Catra!”

Catra and Adora blink at her. Oh no, what does  _ blinking _ mean? People blink a lot every day, but people don’t blink  _ at _ people a lot every day. Catra starts laughing. For most people, laughing is good, but Scorpia remembers The Crimson Wastes. Sometimes, Catra laughs when she feels bad. Adora, though, does not laugh, and she translates. “You’re not in trouble, Scorpia. We’re… glad you said, but… we already knew that?”

“You don’t want to date me-” Catra sputters, wiping at her tears—happy ones, Scorpia thinks, or else Adora would be tending to them—with her paws. “-because you want to date  _ Perfuma _ instead.”

“I want to what now.”

“Catra!” Adora yelps in that very that-was-not-a-nice-thing-to-say voice, even though that  _ was _ a nice thing that Catra said. Dating Perfuma.  _ Scorpia _ dating Perfuma.

Oh, wow, that’s nice.

“I mean, I recognize the faces you make at Perfuma. I recognize them because you’ve made them at me.” At some sort of look from Adora, Catra switches gears. “And I’ve made them at Adora. My point is? Go for it. I mean, you worked up the courage to ask  _ me _ out on a date. Even though I ignored you.” Silence stalls in the room for a moment before Catra continues. “I’m sure you can work up the courage to ask  _ Perfuma _ on a date, then. I mean, it’s  _ Perfuma _ -”

“Exactly! It’s  _ Perfuma _ ! She’s so gentle with her plants and her people love her and, most of all, she keeps  _ trusting _ , even though I stung her that one time and shot her with lightning that other time—I was  _ possessed _ , though, I didn’t  _ want _ to!”

Oh, wow, she’s crying. When did that happen? Adora walks up to her, and, oh, she’s offering a hug,  _ yes please _ , Scorpia loves hugs, even though not everyone asks and she doesn’t love that. “Catra’s not being helpful,” she says, and Catra rolls her eyes, even though she’s smiling, and Catra didn’t smile a lot before leaving The Fright Zone, so she must be happy, right? “Even though she’s not saying it well, though, I agree with her: If you want to ask Perfuma out on a date-”

“Oh, I want to do more than date Perfuma. I want her to be my girlfriend.”

“-or ask her to be your girlfriend, my, you’re awfully forward-”

“Forward? I don’t understand. I’m just trying to make my feelings less complicated by talking about them.”

“Ooh, Perfuma likes that.”

“She does!?” Scorpia breaks out of Adora’s hug and scoops both of her friends into a hug of her own. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Uh… Scorpia?” Catra squeaks. Uh oh! She should have asked..! “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not Perfuma. You need to tell  _ Perfuma _ these things.”

...Oh. That will be… complicated, considering that Perfuma has moved back to Plumeria to help the healing process there.

But Scorpia is brave, strong, loyal, and she gives great hugs! Since she’s going to be the best friend she can be, she is up to the challenge!

And, hey, maybe she’d make a great girlfriend..?


	2. Figuring It Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA: Bow still has the highest EQ of the cast. Don't diss high wisdom characters.

Glimmer likes to figure things out. It’s not that she likes puzzles—not really. But she is stubborn. And curious.

And one thing she can’t figure out is why Scorpia and Entrapta have so much in common.

Commonality number one: the spinning. She noticed it first with Entrapta, how she launches herself across her lab on her spinning chairs and cackles with excitement. It’s less… loud with Scorpia. She noticed it first when they were helping do some restoration in Plumeria. Perfuma would call her over, and even though it was a simple thing—just walk over to her—she would twirl and hum by ways of locomotion. Actually, Glimmer first thought that was a flirting thing for Scorpia, but she did it all through the tour of the renovated Princess Alliance member quarters in Bright Moon Castle. While Glimmer was holding hands with Bow the whole time.

Commonality number two: the rocking. She noticed it with Scorpia on that same tour. She had escorted her to her room, explaining that it would be her official space while she was at Princess Alliance meetings. Scorpia got all quiet then and, rocking against the wall, her carapace going  _ thunk-thunk-thunk _ against the wall, she asked how long she would be able to stay in Bright Moon. It was a good question to ask, really, and the whole Princess Alliance got involved in figuring out the current condition of The Fright Zone and the scattered Horde soldiers—er, displaced residents. Still, Scorpia was very nervous during the whole exchange. She didn’t seem to like the answer, “The Fright Zone’s future is up to you, as its Princess.” Which… Glimmer can understand. She always thought that Bright Moon’s future would be in her mother’s hands for a long time to come…. She noticed the same stress response in Entrapta with a completely different stressor: what to do about Hordak. Scorpia’s concerns she can understand, but Entrapta’s? Yeah, Glimmer will believe Hordak’s “kindness” when she sees it. On Beast Island.

Commonality number three: eye contact—rather, the lack thereof. She noticed it with Entrapta Day One, but, on Day One, she thought Entrapta didn’t like them. As much as she still doesn’t understand  _ why _ she switched sides so quickly—and maybe she never will—at least she understands that it wasn’t out of bitterness. That’s all she really needs to understand about it. It took her longer to notice with Scorpia, but that’s because she didn’t spend a lot of time with Scorpia before being taken by Horde Prime—time, at least, that wasn’t primarily for the purpose of re-connecting Scorpia to her Runestone so Glimmer could use The Heart of Etheria. ...Not her finest moment.

Commonality number four: difficulty discerning emotions. The first time Entrapta said she was bad at friendship, Glimmer believed her. Entrapta has a tendency to wander both in the physical world and in her thoughts, and while she is happy to take someone else along for the ride, the map she provides is far from informative. The first time Scorpia asked if she was sad or angry, Glimmer didn’t believe her. It was a joke. It had to be. No one just  _ asks _ a question like that. Still, she answered, and Scorpia did a little spin and celebrated that she had “guessed right.”

Are they Horde things? Entrapta didn’t spend very long in The Horde, though, and Glimmer noticed these things about her before she… Did The Horde thing. She knows that Scorpia and Entrapta are friends. (She even got out of Scorpia that they called themselves the “Super Pal Trio.” It can’t be a reference to her own “Best Friend Squad,” and, yet, she flinched at the comparison, and that flinch was noticeable enough for Scorpia to look all puppy-pouty in the way she does—yes, she knows her Dad used that term to describe her, but it fits that look Scorpia gives to a T—and ask, “What’s wrong?”)

And what was she supposed to say back to that, huh? “ _ You’re _ what’s wrong!”

Yeah, no. So Glimmer decides to consult her local expert on figuring things out. The young queen plops down next to her boyfriend. “Oh my goodness, you brought snacks!?” Bow hugs her. “You’re the best!”

Glimmer giggles. “Wrong Hordak’s recipe.”

As they finish up their snack, Glimmer poses the puzzle. “I’m trying to figure it out: Why do Entrapta and Scorpia have so much in common?”

Bow’s eyes blow wide, and Glimmer instinctively teleports to his side to make he sure he doesn’t choke, but he shakes his head and swallows harshly. “Sorry about-”

“You don’t have to apologize to me! You’re the one who almost  _ choked _ !”

Bow concedes the point but continues with his calm assessment. “The question caught me off-guard because I think everyone else has already figured it out.”

“What!?” the young queen yelps. “What is it, then? I have to know..!”

“No.”

“No as in I don’t have to know!?”

“No as in  _ none of us have to know _ . It’s not our thing to know. Hey, maybe even Entrapta and Scorpia don’t know. What’s our thing to know is how to be the best friends we can be, even when there are things that we have a hard time figuring out about them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the only chapter in the collection that is not from Scorpia's point of view, FYI.
> 
> I found getting into Scorpia's voice relatively easy, but, wow, Glimmer's voice is hard. I feel like how I felt all through Season 4: "Dammit, Glimmer..!"


	3. Sleep...over?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frosta, Perfuma, and her have a real sleepover. (You know, where she's NOT tied up!)
> 
> Scorpia and Perfuma declare their relationship because writing people staying in relationships is fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some discussions of sex culture, but nothing explicit. Still thought I should give a heads-up, though!

It is Frosta’s idea. She drags Scorpia and Perfuma aside after a Princess Alliance meeting. Well, they call it a “meeting,” but Scorpia calls it an “argument,” and she’s always tired after arguments.

“We need to have a  _ real _ sleepover!” the girl declares.

“I thought we already had a sleepover?” Scorpia offers. At the bewildered expression on her little buddy’s face, she explains, “We slept. Over.”

Frosta still looks confused, but Perfuma’s eyes bloom with understanding. “No,  _ Scorpia _ ! It  _ wasn’t _ a real sleepover because you were tied up!”

Scorpia blinks, considers a comment, but then, remembers Catra and Adora’s warning to her. “They’re real prudes here.” “They have a  _ different culture _ here.” Besides, she is always tired after arguments. Why would she argue against having fun with her friends?

Why would she argue against sleeping in the same room as Perfuma?

So, no, Scorpia does not argue, even when Frosta offers her room—“I’ve stashed it full of snacks!” “Oh no, I hope you didn’t leave any of those snacks  _ open _ …”—even though Scorpia is the one who lives in Bright Moon for the time being?

Although Scorpia doesn’t keep any snacks in her room. She likes to keep eating and the things that matter—cuddling—separate. Maybe that disqualifies her room as a good sleepover spot?

Frosta seems to think so. “The best part of sleepovers is the snacks!” She reaches into a magically-never-melting box and pulls out… a brown cylinder with something brown on top. Scorpia likes brown food. She actually always preferred the brown ration bars to the grey ones—an unpopular opinion, she knows, but she stands by it.

Perfuma gasps. “Does Mermista know you have a secret store of ice cream in your room?”

Frosta flashes them both a grin. “Nope!” The grin turns… different. “And if you want to have more ice cream in the future, you won’t tell her. Because if she knows…” Perfuma nods grimly.

For her part, the Scorpioni woman is confused. “What is…  _ ice cream _ ?”

“This is ice cream!” Frosta bellows and puts the cylinder in her pincers and her pincers hold too hard and Scorpia feels something  _ snap _ and it’s on her, it’s all over her..!

The next thing Scorpia is aware of is Perfuma rubbing a towel over her pincers. Oh, wow, that’s nice. Perfuma looks at her. “Oh, good, you’re back!”

Back? Scorpia didn’t go anywhere. It was the rest of the world that left as the cold leeched into her.

Still, Perfuma looks sad, and that makes Scorpia sad. “I’m sorry about the ice cream. I understand if you don’t want to go any further with the sleepover…”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, where did  _ that _ come from!? Scorpia hopes she doesn’t sound too desperate—that might cause the nice touching to stop—as she sputters, “I don’t like ice cream, but I like you guys!”

“I like you t-” Perfuma cuts herself off and blushes. Oh wow, she’s right. That was an awkward thing to say, wasn’t it? Darn it. She’s alone with Perfuma—the woman she wants to be her girlfriend—but she can’t figure out how to get into that subject.

“They’re real prudes here,” Catra says. Oh, Scorpia knows the meaning of the word, but what does it  _ mean _ !?

The door slams open, and Frosta is looking down at her feet while holding out… “Cereal!” Scorpia exclaims excitedly. Now she liked the brown ration bars, but this new food—cereal; she discovered it in Bright Moon’s kitchen—she  _ loves _ . And the best part? There are so many different types of cereal! And they’re all dry and she can eat them all with her pincers! Frosta offers the bowl, and Scorpia grasps it in her pincers and starts shoveling the cereal into her mouth.

Perfuma looks confused, and Scorpia is about to stop eating to apologize for making a bit of a mess—OK, it’s more than a bit, but she’ll clean it up!—when Frosta cuts in, “I remembered that you’ve been living here in Bright Moon since Horde Prime got his butt kicked, which means that you’ve probably also been eating here in Bright Moon! The staff reports that cereal is your favorite!”

Oh wow,  _ favorite _ is a strong word— _ favorite _ is a word for things that matter, like people—but so is  _ love _ and she used it in her head to describe  _ cereal _ before she has said it out loud than the  _ woman she wants to be her girlfriend _ , so what does she know?

Well, other than saying the word will have to wait because Frosta is a  _ child _ . (Not that she would ever say that to Frosta. She’s seen what happens to those who do.)

Speaking of Frosta, why does she look  _ shy _ ? “I… I’m sorry. Can we still be friends?”

Finally! Something she can answer confidently! “Frosta, no food is more important to me than friendship. Now come here…” Frosta lights up and jumps into Scorpia’s arms, and oh wow Scorpia loves being able to hold her friends. She looks over at Perfuma and beams. She would love to be able to hold- Oh wow, Perfuma is joining in, and Scorpia can hold them both..!

Perfuma disagrees on what the best part of a sleepover is. “It’s not snacks,” she says. “It’s stories.”

Frosta grins. “The word you’re looking for isn’t  _ stories _ . It’s  _ secrets _ .” Scorpia blushes—even though apparently her attraction to Perfuma  _ isn’t _ a secret, considering Catra and Adora saw it—and, hey, did Perfuma too..? “You see, there are many stories you tell anyone. Stories of battles! Of kicking robot butt! Of boring meetings.” She shakes her head. “But there are some stories that you only tell a few people: people you trust enough to watch you sleep.”

“Wait, have I been doing this sleepover thing wrong? I went to sleep last time. I didn’t watch you.”

Perfuma’s face goes red. “No, sleeping at a sleepover is a completely normal thing! Watching somebody sleep is not! Frosta, why would you say that!?”

Frosta rolls her eyes. “You can trust  _ anyone _ to sleep.”

“Not true,” Scorpia and Perfuma answer at the same time. Frosta grumbles something about “weird grownup things” and, yeah, Scorpia would say that’s an accurate descriptor. She recovers, though, with an offer to play a game.

“Oh! We have Truth or Dare in The Horde!”

Perfuma and Frosta look at her with wonder. “Really!?”

“Well, yeah, it doesn’t require any extra rations. Any games that don’t require extra materials are big in The Horde.”

Perfuma cocks her head. “But… I thought… You guys just trained.”

Scorpia smiles. “Well, I thought you guys just sparkled, but, as it would turn out, no one can do one thing all the time!”

“OK, I dare you to tell me what in the world  _ that _ means!” Frosta shouts.

“Oh, I always pick Truth. The Dares always involve something that will get you in trouble with Lord Hordak or one of his higher-ups. Lord Hordak doesn’t care about the Truths of his soldiers.”

Oh? Why does Perfuma look so sad? “May I hug you? That made me very sad. You must have had such an awful childhood!”

“Yes, you can,” Scorpia answers, but there’s more. “As for my childhood, it wasn’t bad. Really. Catra and Adora had an especially bad childhood.”

“Tell me about the sparkles!” Frosta cries.

“Oh, the sparkles, right. That’s how Nanny tried to explain the thunderstorms over The Fright Zone to me. Although, now that I think about it, it made no sense? I mean, listen to this. ‘Princesses get their power by sparkling in the light. The Fright Zone is protected by the darkness of the storms.’ But things… could still sparkle in The Fright Zone? Like, sparkling happens in all light, not just outside-light.”

“Nanny?” Perfuma prompts.

“My governess.” Confusion. “You guys don’t have governesses? That’s OK. I don’t think most people in The Horde had them either.”

“So why did you?” Frosta asks.

“Because I was a Princess. I was special. I wasn’t going to be just some foot soldier. I was going to be one of the higher-ups.” One of the higher-ups who didn’t care. It’s not like Nanny ever said-said that, but she said a lot of other things: that the other children didn’t matter, that she was only assigned to important cases…

_ “You’re their only option, my darling.” _ How was it that the erasure of her people became a daily affirmation of worth?

“Nanny always said I was important. That I was her pride, her joy, her protector. It feels good to be told all those things, you know? I don’t think Catra and Adora ever had that.”

Perfuma’s face falls. “Let’s change the subject. This is making me uncomfortable.” She ponders. “Hey, isn’t it your turn, Scorpia?”

Uh oh, right! Her turn! Scorpia always chose Truth, but that meant that the other people in her age cohort stopped inviting her to play. Said she was no fun. Nanny said that Scorpia would have fun as their commander. Scorpia didn’t believe that, but she thought Nanny did, so she said OK. She still thinks Nanny believed. In The Horde. In Scorpia.

So maybe she should pick something else this time. Oh, wait, she already picked Truth. Now she has to pick Truth or Dare for someone else. Perfuma. It’s Perfuma. She’s a little afraid of giving Frosta a Dare.

“Perfuma, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

She could get a very interesting Truth out of Perfuma… No, Scorpia! That is a Horde thing to do! (Scorpia started being invited back to Truth or Dare games as an adult. Adult Truth or Dare games.) They have a different culture here!

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Perfuma’s lips move, but Scorpia can’t hear her over Frosta’s screaming. “I knew it!” Ow. Scorpia does not like screaming.

Neither does Perfuma. “Frosta,  _ please _ ! I am trying to answer!” And she answers with a question. “Why… Why do you ask?”

“Boo! That’s not an answer!”

“Frosta,  _ please _ .” Her little buddy shrinks a bit. “I ask because I asked Entrapta about it, and she told me to tell Catra, then I told Catra, and she told me to tell you. I ask because you’re so gentle with your plants and your people love you and, most of all, you keep trusting, and trusting is a hard thing to be in this world. I ask because I’m just trying to make my feelings less complicated by talking about them because, oh wow, are feelings hard when people don’t talk about them; I know that’s not just a me thing. I ask because… I want to be  _ your _ girlfriend.”

Oh wow, Perfuma is crying. Perfuma is crying. “I’m sorry! Catra and Adora warned me that there was a different culture here-”

“I ask… because I want to be  _ your _ girlfriend.” What. She wants to what now. “I just… I just had to make sure because, once, someone I liked asked that question during Truth or Dare, but… But it was just a dare..!” Perfuma sobs. Scorpia hugs.

Frosta, for her part, celebrates her victory. “I wish you’d  _ told _ me about your Truth or Dare trauma, Perfuma, but what did I say? A sleepover is the  _ perfect _ time for secrets to get out!”

Wait, then that means… Scorpia looks down at the woman in her arms. “This was  _ your _ idea?”

Perfuma sniffles. “I told Mermista about my feelings, who told Frosta, who told me that I needed to tell you before Sea Hawk was told, or else the whole  _ world _ might know before the one who most needed to know did!”

“The sleepover was  _ my _ idea,” Frosta proclaims proudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nanny/the governess is a minor OC. Simply because A) there's no way Shadow Weaver raised ALL of the orphans in The Horde and B) because Scorpia is a Princess—immediately identified as Important (tm)—she must have been raised in a different way than most other orphans.


	4. Landlubbers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Great people (i.e: Sea Hawk and Scorpia) have a great party!

It comes up during a trip by all of the members of the Princess Alliance to help rebuild Salineas. “So…” Sea Hawk slides up next to Scorpia as she lifts a steel bar. “What do you want this next building to be?”

What does  _ she _ want? What an odd question. This is not her kingdom, and, really, she’s just the muscle. Still… It gets her thinking… “Oh, it’s not about what I want…” the Scorpioni woman hums. “But it’d be sure be nice—you know, for people in general—if Salineas had a nice party spot again.” The Enchanted Grotto was peak Salineas aesthetic for Scorpia, combining the blues and purples of Salinean decor with the natural beauty of its waters. And it is accessible to people who can’t swim!

Sea Hawk raises a hand to his chin. “It sounds to me like you like parties.”

Scorpia looks around. “I’m not going to leave work to go party! People are depending on me! I’m the muscle!”

Sea Hawk raises his hands. Surrender? Do people surrender when they’re sad? “I would never accuse you of such a thing!” her friend yelps. “But… you know… you were more than the muscle back at the-” Oh, wow, what’s that word? Sawr-ray? Scorpia thinks it’s just a fancy word for party. Because that’s what they’re talking about, right?

Speaking of parties… “If you’re talking about the party at The Enchanted Grotto-” she says as she follows the instructions to place the steel bar where a team of people will… insert it? Whatever they’re doing, Scorpia sadly notes that they’re using tools that her pincers can’t manipulate. The foreman nods at her, and Scorpia goes to get another beam. Sea Hawk scampers next to her. Actually, she’s not quite sure what he’s doing here. He’s not very muscly. He is very loud, though. Maybe he helps tell people where to put things! Maybe he reminds them that rebuilding is an “ADVENTURE.”

Yeah, that sounds good!

“-then you saw that I’m not good at parties.”

Sea Hawk tuts. “Scorpia, Scorpia, Scorpia! I saw you not being good at small talk. Yes, there is small talk at parties, but parties are so much more than small talk! For example, SINGING!” Oh wow, he has impressive range. Scorpia wants to clap her pincers, but there is a steel bar in them that should not fall on him.

The foreman calls for a break, and Sea Hawk joins her not at the buffet line. Scorpia brought her own food: cereal. Nothing on the buffet line works for her. “Why do you bring up the party?” she asks between chomps.

Sea Hawk does not flinch at how she must scoop messily with her pincers. In fact, he squeals in delight as her crumbs summon seagulls. He chatters to them—“Only good things, I assure you.”—and, as they appear to calm down at his words—and Scorpia’s cereal—he explains. “Because you deserve a break!”

“...I am on a break.”

“A longer break! A party!”

Scorpia’s brow furrows. The thing is, Sea Hawk isn’t wrong: She likes parties. Despite the food that doesn’t work for her and the squeeze of people and the threat of her stinger to said people. She likes parties but not party-things? Sea Hawk seems to glean some of that because he puffs out his chest in promise and declares, “As your friend, I want you to take a break with a party that you will enjoy!”

See? It’s not so hard to  _ say _ your emotions! This time, she  _ can _ clap. The seagulls help clean up. And, oh wow, they’re taking her bowl. The duo take a moment to watch the biggest seagull of the group fly away with new cargo. “...What do you think they’re gonna do with it?” she asks. Because Sea Hawk’s name is about sea and birds. He must know about sea birds!

“Nesting material, I’d wager.” He turns away from the shoreline and towards her. “But enough about seagulls! ...Unless you want them at your party?” Scorpia shakes her head. Sea Hawk smiles. “I thought so. Now forgive me if this is an imposition, but you appeared to enjoy singing at the Enchanted Grotto.”

Scorpia grins and a happy spin bursts from her. “I did! I  _ love _ singing! Catra always said it was annoying, but a lot of things were considered annoying in The Horde!”

Sea Hawk nods. “It sure does seem that way. Well, I can assure you that you are not an annoying singer. Would you want singing at your party?”

“And dancing!” she exclaims.

Sea Hawk leaps to his feet excitedly. “Yes! They are a classic combination!”

The foreman says the break is over. Sea Hawk calls out to her. “Are you free tonight?” When she says that she is, he hollers that he will take her to the party after she gets off of work.

* * *

Scorpia gets off of work sweaty but satisfied. (Sweaty does not always mean satisfied.) True to his word, Sea Hawk crests over a hill, waving his hands. “Scorpia! Are you ready for your party ADVENTURE?”

Oh wow, it’s really happening then, isn’t it? “Oh no, Sea Hawk! I didn’t pack my dress to a reconstruction trip!”

Sea Hawk shakes his head. “Clothes are not what makes a party!  _ People _ are what makes a party!”

Finally! Someone gets it! She doesn’t like party-food or party-lights, but that doesn’t mean she can’t like parties! “Who will be there, then?”

Sea Hawk pales. “Um. Just us. Everyone else I asked was busy. Short notice and all.”

Oh no, Sea Hawk is  _ sad _ ! The Scorpioni woman gives him a hug. “People are what makes a party,” she reassures him. “We’re great people, so we’ll have a great party!”

Sea Hawk beams. “Right! I never doubted for a moment!”

* * *

Sea Hawk leads her to “his old stomping grounds.” Scorpia experimentally stomps. The floor is covered in a layer of sand. As are the walls. The walls that are left anyway. “I know you said that you hope that Salineas gets a nice party spot. While I wouldn’t categorize this as  _ nice _ , it is the place where I had some of the best parties I’ve ever had.” He blushes, for some reason.

Welp, Scorpia better nip that in the bud. “...Sea Hawk, I don’t like you that way.”

“I don’t like you that way either!” Oh wow, this is awkward. “Let’s dance!” Oh good! Dancing is  _ never _ awkward!

Except when you don’t know the steps. Luckily, Sea Hawk says he has chosen a song that doesn’t need specific steps!  “It was Friday morn when we set sail / And we were not far from the land / When our captain he spied a mermaid so fair / With a comb and a glass in her hand~” Oh, a song about brushing hair! Scorpia spends a lot of time brushing her hair, but she never knew there was a song about it!

As the chorus begins, Sea Hawk shows her how he dances to it.  “And the ocean waves do roll / And the stormy winds do blow / And we poor sailors are skipping at the top / While the landlubbers lie down below, below, below / While the landlubbers lie down below~” Ooh, skipping  _ and _ in a circle? Scorpia can do that!

As he begins the next verse, Scorpia sings with him.  “Then up spoke the captain of our gallant ship / And a fine spoken man was he / He said 'This fishy mermaid has warned me of our doom / We shall sink to the bottom of the sea~” Oh. Not about brushing hair, then. Well, she’s sure it’ll end up fine. Sea Hawk is singing so  _ happily _ , after all!

During the chorus, she and Sea Hawk skip in a circle together.

“Then up spoke the cabin boy of our gallant ship / And a brave young lad was he / He said 'I have a sweetheart in Salem by the sea / But tonight she'll be weeping for me'~” Oh wow, Scorpia sure hopes that they get to the happy part soon.

“And the ocean waves do roll / And the stormy winds do blow / And we poor sailors are skipping at the top / While the landlubbers lie down below, below, below / While the landlubbers lie down-” Sea Hawk squeaks.

“Below, below, below!” Oh, he’s stopped singing. Scorpia looks. Mermista, the Princess of Salineas, is crossing her arms at them.

Uh oh. “We were just singing and dancing for fun!” Mermista raises an eyebrow at her. “We don’t like each other that way!” the Scorpioni woman sputters.

“Oh, I know that,” Mermista says. She turns to Sea Hawk. “I just don’t understand why, when I told you that I was exhausted after the meetings today, you decided to have a party  _ right beneath my window _ .”

Sea Hawk looks up. “Ah. Yes. You did say that was how you snuck out, when we first met…”

“There are other places where you can party, you know. I don’t know why you keep dragging our friends to this dump.”

Sea Hawk’s face reddens. “Hey! I have very happy memories in this dump!”

Mermista… gives him a kiss! Scorpia hides her face behind her pincer, in case she wasn’t supposed to see that. “So do I, you goober, but I also don’t force people to dance in sand. Seriously, you’ve hurt yourself enough times-” She seems to register Scorpia’s presence. “Oh, hey, sorry to interrupt your break. You’ve certainly earned it. But why don’t you take it in one of the empty rooms in my castle?”

Scorpia’s eyes widen. “Really? But you said you were exhausted.”

“I am. I’m going back to sleep once I take you there. There will be several layers of wall between your party and my sleep.”

In that case… Scorpia starts to follow. Sea Hawk sccuries next to Mermista. “Just so you know: I would  _ never _ call you a landlubber!”

“What’s a landlubber?” Scorpia asks.

Mermista snorts. Sea Hawk gasps. “We sang about them!”

Scorpia cocks her head. “Is that what we were singing? I thought we were singing about land-lovers! I love the land of Etheria!”

Mermista snickers. “She’s not wrong.”

“Wait, Scorpia! What are we singing about, according to you, my friend? Tell me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, "The Mermaid" is a real sea shanty! (Spoiler alert: The mermaid is right.)


	5. Instincts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I am sickfic TRASH... Suffer, my child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sickfic warnings, specifically depictions of having difficulty breathing.
> 
> Also, some references to sex. You can tear The Horde having a healthier view of casual sex than the Princess Alliance from my cold, dead hands.

They say Etherians are born with three instincts: the instinct to feed, the instinct to grasp, and the instinct to startle.

Scorpia doesn’t actually know who says these things, but she’d like to know because she thinks they’re wrong.

Oh, not that any of those three things aren’t instincts. Except maybe the grasping one. No hands. Just that… there are more instincts than that.

Stinging, for instance. OK, so it’s not all Etherians that have those instincts. In fact, she might be the last Etherian to have that instinct.

Oh, wow, that’s an uncomfortable thought.

The first three instincts are from newborns. But stinging isn’t a newborn thing. It can’t. How can you feed from something you’re stinging? (Scorpia doesn’t know which mom she fed from.) So… stinging must come later. Around the same time as walking, probably. If you have the instinct to walk away, you should have the instinct to defend yourself. (But babies  _ should _ be able to say why they’re crying, but they  _ don’t _ .)

Well, it doesn’t matter how she got it. Scorpia has the stinging instinct now.

And she hates it. And it’s a hard thing to hate. Because The Horde loved it. And she doesn’t hate The Horde—its people, anyway, but the thing was bad. Because it’s an instinct. She can’t control it, but that’s what makes it terrifying. (Like lightning, except she can’t control it.)

There are better instincts, even better instincts that she learned in The Horde. The instinct to serve something bigger than yourself. The instinct to lead. The instinct to protect. The instinct to conceal what gets in the way of the greater goal. (“Goal” instead of “good” because The Horde was bad. She knows that now.)

Illness, for instance.

Illness itself isn’t bad. It doesn’t have feelings. But illness is bad when it gets in the way of good things.

Like the ball. Oh, it’s easy to say the ball is bad because it’s making her want to grab her stuffy, bury herself under her blankets—Bright Moon has  _ so many _ , it’s  _ so great _ —and never come out again, but saying something is bad because you don’t like it is the easy way out. It’s being a bad friend. To the world.

The world says that, in order to be a good friend, she has to be Princess Scorpia of The Fright Zone.

And she’s a good person, so her being in charge of The Fright Zone should make it good!

But The Fright Zone isn’t one thing. The Fright Zone has the vestiges of The Horde. The Fright Zone has people with hurt brains and hurt hearts.

The Fright Zone has the ghosts of the Scorpioni.

Ghosts… Ghosts aren’t  _ bad _ . Ghosts don’t have  _ feelings _ . But the people before ghosts did. And the Scorpioni aren’t all ghosts yet.

Although Scorpia thinks she feels like a ghost right now. If ghosts feel shivery, feverish, not hungry, and cough up green. Ghost bits?

It wasn’t always this way. There was a while there where she could recognize that she had a cold, not Ghost Sickness. Now, though? Ghost Sickness must be the only explanation. Do ghosts like balls? Scorpia hopes they will. It’ll be good for at least one of them to have a good time.

Oh, what is she saying? The others are so excited! Glimmer is overjoyed to soon have all of her friends together under one roof, and, of course, her… King Micah’s sister. She has a name that’s not “Head Party Planner.”

Castaspella! The ghosts might not remember, but Scorpia does!

Castaspella is busily getting everything set up. Which is great. Because Scorpia can lay down. Wait, no, “be surprised.” That was what she told them she would do.

Speaking of surprises, Perfuma said she’d have a surprise for her at the ball. Scorpia sighs happily, ignoring the unhappy coughs that that sets off because, ghosts,  _ please _ don’t be rude to her girlfriend.

She has an instinct to make sure that people aren’t rude to her girlfriend, after all.

Scorpia instinctively curls in on herself as the coughing continues. She whimpers. She had been hoping to surprise Perfuma at the ball with a song about her—a double surprise because Perfuma doesn’t know about it, and Scorpia doesn’t know what the song is yet—but no one wants to hear a coughing song.

Scorpia would write the song down, but she doesn’t know it yet, and she doesn’t have hands to write with.

She has long had an instinct to want hands. She doesn’t hate her pincers the way she hates her stinging—grabbing and slicing isn’t an instinct the way stinging is—but hands are so much more useful than pincers now that the war is over.

And it’s not like hands aren’t  _ unuseful _ in war either! Hands can hold weapons!

Scorpia coughs into her pincers and wishes she could hold something to cough into. Actually, that normally is something she can do with her pincers, but she feels so sick, and she knows that sickness makes her pincers more apt to just snap shut.

It’s fine, though, because the ball is starting soon, and it’s a good thing because it’s the first ball since Horde Prime was defeated and the ball that will announce the peacetime function of The Princess Alliance—including free movement of people between kingdoms, which was Scorpia’s thing, because she knows that not everyone who were in The Horde are from The Fright Zone—and the ball will be Scorpia’s first ball as a  _ real _ Princess.

* * *

It’s not fine. The ball is starting too soon. When you’re tired, sleep is supposed to help. Not so with Ghost Sickness, apparently.

And when you sleep, your hair gets messed up!

Normally, Scorpia would, you know, fix it, with her pincers, but she doesn’t trust her pincers right now. Actually, she doesn’t trust her whole body right now, but the others  _ trusted _ that she would be at the ball, so off she goes!

Oh, wow,  _ that’s _ Perfuma’s surprise. A dress made of flowers. Ooh, is that the type of flower that she grew on her tail when they first met? Met out-of-battle, that is? Nice callback! Oh, wow, she’s coming closer, and the dress looks even better up close- “Like my surprise?” Perfuma giggles.

“Yeah,” Scorpia says, partly because she’s speechless and partly because it’s hard to talk when it’s so hard to breathe.

“Is this your surprise?” Hm? What? Oh, the hair! The hair that got messed up from the  _ unuseful _ nap. Or maybe it wasn’t?

“Did you take a nap right before?” Oh, no, it was.

“Yep.” Because, really, there’s no use lying about bedhead. And if they’re girlfriends, they’re gonna see each other’s bedheads at some-

“I’d like to, um-” Perfuma blushes. “Take a nap with you. After this. N-Not in an  _ extreme _ way! Just… You look tired, and, in Plumeria, it’s a normal thing to sleep together. Sleeping together helps you sleep better! O-Of course, one day, I’d love to sleep together in the extreme way, but I’m not ready for that yet….”

Oh, wow, the ball is going good already! Now, as long as Scorpia can avoid coughing during or after it, the night will be good too!

As it would turn out, though, she can’t even manage it  _ before _ . King Micah (Former King Micah? Scorpia’s never gotten a clear answer over what she should call him other than  _ not _ Dad.) announces the Princess guests and who they’re bringing with them—Nettossa and Spinrella, oh darn Scorpia didn’t catch where they’re from, and Mermista and Sea Hawk and Perfuma and Scorpia…

“Come on, Scorpia!” Perfuma twirls in front of her, and her dress looks magical, and Scorpia simply  _ must _ comment on it-

Except something super-supportive-girlfriend-y is not the comment that comes out. It’s a coughing comment. Rude. And the longer it goes on, the ruder it gets.

Come on, ghosts, show some respect. Look at poor Perfuma. “Scorpia?”

“I’m really sorry about this,” Scorpia wants to say. “This is a bad thing getting in the way of a good thing, and, speaking of good things, you look really good, like always, but I know vocalizing that helps you feel loved and validated.”

Scorpia does not say that. In fact, Scorpia does not say anything because she can’t breathe.

“Help!” someone cries. “Help!”

The instinct to  _ breathe _ isn’t working, but the instinct to sting  _ is _ !? That’s-

* * *

Oh, wow, Scorpia feels  _ terrible _ . Not just because of the Ghost Sickness either.

That chair is not meant for sleeping in, Perfuma! Oh, no, her neck must  _ hurt _ …. And she’s really asleep, isn’t she? So… Is it better to just let her or to try to move her or..?

The ghosts make the decision for her. Scorpia sputters. And Perfuma moves herself. “Scorpia! Oh, Scorpia, you’re awake!” Oh, wow, she’s crying. “M-May I hug you?”

Scorpia wants to say, “Yes, you may hug me. I always appreciate you asking, you know. Everyone else tries to remember, but you’re the only one who never slips up, and that you keep making sure makes me feel loved and validated.” But Scorpia knows better now than to try to talk. So she opens her arms, and Perfuma hugs her, and it’s  _ great _ , and, wait, was that a kiss? Not on the lips, obviously, because there’s ghost-coughs in her mouth, but, yeah, that  _ was _ a kiss, on the forehead, even though her forehead is all sweaty and blegh right now.

Just like her whole body if sweaty and blegh right now!

“I was so worried…” Perfuma murmurs.

Scorpia, being the best girlfriend she can—despite the circumstances—can’t say  _ nothing _ ! Her girlfriend is  _ sad _ ! Careful to not take too big of breaths—coughing comes from big breaths—she whispers back, “It got scary there. For a bit.”

“For a  _ bit _ !?” Um… Is that still sad? Scorpia doesn’t think so. Perfuma confirms as much. “I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at the system that told you that you couldn’t tell anyone that you’re sick.”

Here’s the thing: Scorpia is better at other people being sad than other people being angry. Fun fact about emotions: People feel better when you do the emotion with them. Scorpia is better at crying than growling. (The Horde tried to teach her to be angry, but then they decided the pincers and the stinging and the Force Captain uniform would be angry enough for her.)

Still, for the sake of her girlfriend, she will try! “Gr.”

Perfuma blinks at her. “What are you doing?”

Oh. It must not have worked, then, if she’s asking that question. “Growling.”

“I… appreciate the support? That is what you were going for there, right?” Scorpia nods enthusiastically, and the ghosts aren’t rude about the nodding. “But, please, no more growling. And less talking. As reassuring as it is for me to hear your voice again, you need to rest. You have-”

Whoa, what’s  _ that _ word? Uh, but Perfuma says less talking, so she can’t ask, can she? Hm…

But something in her face must indicate her confusion because Perfuma repeats the word: new-moan-ia.

Well, considering how Scorpia wants to moan in pain because, ow, the ghosts are making breathing hurt, the name is scientifically accurate!

“...Do you not know what pneumonia is?”

“Ghosts,” Scorpia answers.

“What!? I-” Scorpia thinks her girlfriend is going in for another forehead kiss, but, no, it’s just a forehead touch. But not, like, regular touching, with the front part of the hand. It’s weird touching, with the back part of her hand.

Oh wait! Scorpia knows what that means! “Fever!” she yelps triumphantly.

“Well, yes, a fever is one of the symptoms because pneumonia is an infection. An infection of the lungs-” Yikes. That sounds… bad. “-but yours isn’t high enough that you should be… talking about ghosts? Can you explain-?” Perfuma cuts herself off. “Oh, Scorpia! You’re going to be OK. I  _ promise _ . Bright Moon has great doctors, and I’ve been whipping up some herbal remedies to help! No one is angry at you, and we can explain everything that’s happening.” Something in her shifts. “First, no vegetables and now no medical knowledge!? How did  _ anyone _ survive being in The Horde!?”

Angry! “I can explain,” Scorpia offers.

“I’d really rather you not  _ talk _ to explain, though. I mean, it must be very hard to talk when your breathing is this ba-” She shakes her head vehemently. “No, not bad! You’re not bad! Your breathing is  _ labored _ .” No. No, it’s bad. “Maybe you can… write it down?”

Scorpia looks down at her pincers. Her shaky pincers.

Perfuma looks at them too. “Right. No hands.” Scorpia nods sadly. “No matter, then! My confusion is not as important as your health! Which means you need to stop doing those little, panting breaths I keep hearing! You need to do big breaths! You need to cough!”

“But coughing hur-” Ow, ow,  _ ow _ ! Case in point! Scorpia’s pincers instinctively come to her chest, as if the pain could be shielded from from the outside. And Perfuma instinctively lays her hands over those pincers.

“I know coughing hurts,” Perfuma says. “I’ve had pneumonia before. It’s  _ awful _ .” No need to argue that point! “Luckily, there are some things that can make it less awful.”

She reaches over, and, aw, is that a cart? It’s  _ adorable _ ! “First of all, there is medicine to flush out the infection.” Oh.  _ Oh. _ She wants to feed her. Which, um, makes sense. No hands. Shaky pincers. But… Scorpia thought they would take that step in a… What was the word?  _ Extreme _ , yeah, that’s the word Perfuma uses to describe sex. As it would turn out, outside of The Horde, the topic is a bit… Well, they call it rude.

Well, refusing medicine would also be rude, so…

Oh, wow, that tastes  _ awful _ ! Perfuma smiles. “Sorry. That medicine does  _ not _ taste good.” She takes something different out of the cart. “But this one does.” Scorpia puckers her lips, trying to discern just how much more medicine she has to take… A series of coughs break out of her. “This one helps with the coughing, actually.”

OK,  _ nothing _ can taste worse than the green blob in her mouth after the coughing!

Oh, and Perfuma was right! That one was good! OK, things are looking up!

And things look even better when Perfuma nestles her stuffy next to her! “Coughing is good because it helps dislodge things that need to go out of your lungs, but sleeping is even better.”

Does that mean..?

Oh no, not that chair again! Scorpia’s neck aches in sympathy. “Won’t sleep,” she demands. “Unless you use-” Ow. Too bad the cough-go-away-medicine doesn’t  _ immediately _ make the cough go away. “-a real bed.”

Perfuma quirks an eyebrow at her.

Oh, right. There are other beds. With a grunt of exertion, Scorpia shifts her and her stuffy more towards the wall. There. A Perfuma-sized spot. Perfuma smiles, and while she doesn’t move to go under the blankets, now that Scorpia is facing her, she can see how  _ tired _ her girlfriend is. Yeah, she might not even need the blankets.

And then Scorpia coughs in her face. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize! Although I will be turning around, if you don’t mind…” Perfuma doesn’t turn to her other side, though, like Scorpia expects. Instead, she lays on her back and quietly asks if she can touch Scorpia again. After getting permission, she winds an arm under Scorpia’s neck and begins rubbing circles against Scorpia’s back.

Oh, wow, that’s good.

* * *

“I’m  _ fine _ , Adora!” Scorpia keeps her eyes shut, but she can see Catra behind her eyelids: hackles raised, tail poofed out, baring her teeth. The way she does when she’s  _ not _ fine.

“I’m calling in my executive duty as girlfriend.”

“...Can I call in  _ my _ executive duty as girlfriend as well?”

“No.”

Scorpia is just beginning to doze off again when the door to her room slams open. She winces as a bright light streams in. Sunlight? No, it can’t be. The sun is behind her windows, not her door.

“Why does Scorpia look  _ dead _ over there!?” Catra yelps.

Oh, no, dead! She can’t be! The thing is that Scorpia is the only Scorpioni who  _ isn’t _ dead! Despite how weak she feels, she forces her eyes to open, and she sees She-Ra—that explains the light—carrying Catra. Who has a swollen leg in a splint.

“Catra!” Scorpia gasps, but, oh wow, her body does  _ not _ like that, but she coughs and coughs and it  _ hurts _ -

“Why do you sound even  _ worse _ !?”

Worse? Worse than dead? That doesn’t make any sense. Luckily, Adora-as-She-Ra—or should she just call her She-Ra, you know, Scorpia’s never gotten a clear answer to that question either—has the good sense to put Catra down.

Oh no, Stuffy! Scorpia whimpers.

“See, I was  _ trying _ to tell them that it’s rude to make us have to look at how weak we are-” Catra’s brow furrows. “...Am I sitting on something?”

Scorpia nods weakly. Catra reaches out from under her and makes a face. “What  _ is _ this?”

Scorpia’s pincers grab at Stuffy instinctively. “OK, it’s yours, but what  _ is _ it?”

“Stuffy,” Scorpia answers, cuddling the toy scorpion to her chest.

Catra is staring at her, but Scorpia doesn’t care. This is her room, and the governess said she can have Stuffy in the privacy of her own room, so, if anything, Scorpia should be staring at Catra, but she won’t do that because she’s a good friend, and, oh wow, that leg looks  _ painful _ . She reaches towards it-

“Don’t. Don’t touch it. Especially not with your big honking pincers.”

Catra has a good point. Scorpia pulls her pincers back and hugs Stuffy. If only hugging Stuffy could help poor Catra’s leg.

Oh, hey, Adora’s back. “Welcome to the sick room. You are here under the executive duties of your girlfriends.”

“Adora. A broken leg isn’t a sickness. Besides, I’ve been more badly hurt and you know it.”

Catra’s leg is  _ broken _ !? Oh, that must be  _ awful _ ..! Catra whips around, ears pressed down. “I have  _ no idea _ how you didn’t leave The Horde earlier! You have the same  _ stupid _ worried face as these Princesses! Well, news flash:  _ You’re _ the one who can’t breathe! I can  _ hear _ you!”

Scorpia—darn these shaky pincers—offers her Stuffy. “Why are you so  _ nice _ !?” Catra roars. Catra accepts Stuffy. Scorpia smiles at her. Catra looks away. “Are you  _ happy _ now!?”

Scorpia is about to try to answer that, yes, she is, because even though she’s never had a broken leg, she can feel that it is  _ awful _ , but that’s difficult to do when breathing is so hard and Catra is turned away from her.

“I’m happi _ er _ ,” Adora answers. “I’ll be happ _ iest _ when you’re well again.” Adora gives Catra a kiss! On the lips! Scorpia smiles; it’s so good that they’ve gotten to a good place together. “When you’re  _ both _ well again.”

Oh, but? Scorpia isn’t Adora’s girlfriend?

Catra is staring at her. “No. Stop it.” Scorpia opens her mouth- Catra rests a claw on her nose. “Stop giving that  _ look _ like you’re  _ surprised _ that people care about you.” Scorpia coughs. Uh oh. She coughs in Catra’s face.

Catra, to her credit, doesn’t say anything. To Scorpia. “Do we  _ really _ need to be in the same bed!?”

* * *

Adora decides that, no, they do not. Adora and Perfuma do decide, though, to keep them in the same room. For ease of access? Maybe?

Catra is a little upset about it.

One night, she exclaims, “You keep talking about  _ resting _ , but I can’t sleep when Scorpia is coughing so much!”

Yes. Hard agree. “Scorpia can’t sleep either when Scorpia is coughing so much,” she manages to concur. At some point. There were a few coughing fits in there.

But! Then, Entrapta had an  _ amazing _ idea! (Oh. Entrapta visits. Without Hordak. Phew. Scorpia knows that Entrapta likes Hordak, but no one else does.)

Noise-cancelling headphones! Sure, they’re not ow-cancelling headphones, but the noise of the coughing hurts too, so it helps Scorpia some, and it helps Catra  _ a lot _ .

And Scorpia wants to help Catra. Because Scorpia likes her bed enough. She likes being taken care of and spending time with Stuffy and Perfuma kissing her (not on the lips, but small victories).

But Catra? Catra doesn’t like getting hugs and wearing crutches and going to physical therapy. Catra does like Adora kissing her, but she doesn’t need a broken leg for that!

So when Perfuma tells her that she should eat, even though she’s really not hungry, because it would make Catra feel better, Scorpia is certainly going to try!

“What in the world are you talking about? What’s bothering me is this stupid cast and these stupid crutches, not-”

Adora shushes her girlfriend, and Scorpia smiles at Catra as Perfuma offers her some vegetable broth. Scorpia knows that Catra doesn’t want to be sick-roommates because she doesn’t want anyone to see her being “weak,” but Scorpia is going to be the best sick-roommate she can be!

* * *

“You know they put me in here for  _ your _ sake, right?”

Scorpia looks over at Catra, who is playing with one of the fiddly contraptions Entrapta brought over on her most recent visit. Actually, Entrapta told her that they were for her because she remembered that Scorpia clicks her pincers and thought she might like something else to click but she didn’t remember that Scorpia doesn’t have hands, so Scorpia gave them to Catra.

“So I wouldn’t be lonely? That’s nice of them.” It’s been a week and a half since Catra and Scorpia became sick-roommates. Catra is eager to get back to… Whatever it is that Catra does that she can’t do on crutches. Flips? Scorpia’s never been able to do a flip. Meanwhile, Scorpia’s fever is down, and she can talk, and the coughing is still annoying, but it doesn’t make mucus—that’s the word the doctors taught her—anymore. So that’s good. Everything is getting better.

“Eh… kind of? But more so that you’d eat.”

“Uh… What does us being roommates have to do with me eating?”

Catra narrows her eyes. “Are you seriously asking me that question?” Well, yes. Scorpia stares at her sick-roommate expectantly. Catra groans. “We already knew how picky you are with food, but when you have pneumonia—or whatever the word was—you want to eat even less. Honestly, you’re worse than Entrapta! She’ll eat anything, as long as it’s small, but you don’t like things that touch, you don’t like anything green-”

Well, that is just incorrect! “I like green!”

“You like the color green, sure, but you won’t eat anything green. On top of that, you won’t eat anything with lumps. That made it very hard to find soup you’d eat, by the way… So Perfuma was very worried because apparently you hadn’t eaten anything in a few days before you collapsed-” Is two “a few”? “-and she was terrified that you’d just kinda… waste away…” She cuts herself off. “Point is! You’re very high-maintenance.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Not your fault. So apparently  _ Bow and Glimmer _ found out that when  _ Adora _ gets sick if you tell her to do something not for herself but for her friends she’ll do it, and they all thought that ‘Yeah, Scorpia’d probably be like that too, and, conveniently we have someone who she’ll be extra worried about it, so yay sick room.’”

“Yay?” Scorpia offers.

“I wouldn’t say  _ that _ -” Catra scoffs, “-but this hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be,” she concedes. “Honestly, the worst part has been having to explain how I even got  _ sick _ .”

But Catra isn’t sick. She has a broken- oh! “Your leg.” Catra blushes and looks away, her tail twitching in… anger?

“I can explain first.”

“Perfuma said something about ghosts?”

“Oh no, that was just my silly idea about what happened. You know, that the ghosts of the Scorpioni are really angry at me because I’m Princess of The Fright Zone, and I’m alive while they’re not, and I don’t know how to balance saying these people are all gone and that’s sad but also they did a lot of things that are bad and we shouldn’t do those things, even though we’re living on their land. But, again, that was just my silly idea. That isn’t  _ actually _ what happened. You see, what actually happened was that my cold turned into pneumonia, meaning the infection moved from-”

“That’s  _ concerning _ .”

“That the infection moved? Absolutely.”

“No!” Catra yelps. “I mean, yes, of course, you were very sick and that’s concerning, and it’s a testament to how sick you were that you’re  _ still _ recovering, but I’m talking more about these… ghost feelings.” And then Catra looks so  _ sad _ ! “Have you  _ told _ anyone about them?”

“No.” And why would she?  _ She’s _ the Princess of The Fright Zone, so it’s her problem and hers alone.

“You know what? I’m not even embarrassed about how I got hurt anymore. I slipped, OK? I was going down the stairs with Adora—and we had the  _ sexiest _ matching suits on—and I slipped. It was right before the ball. Heh. Maybe I was falling at the same time you were.”

“That’s concerning,” Scorpia offers.

“Yeah, that ball was  _ cursed _ . Which sucks, you know? Because I really wanted to sweep Adora off her feet.”

Scorpia sits up in her bed, her curiosity piqued. “How so?”

Catra blushes. “You know. Dancing.”

Scorpia considers Catra—sad—and considers her own state—well enough to try something. “Show me,” she instructs.

“What!?” Catra squeaks. “In case you haven’t noticed,  _ I _ still have a broken leg,  _ you’re _ still recovering, and we both have girlfriends who poke their heads in regularly.”

“Yeah. Every two hours. We have time.”

Catra considers Scorpia—willing—then considers the time. Then, she declares, “You know, maybe you still have some Horde skills left in you yet.”

And so Catra instructs Scorpia through a dance, demonstrating what she can on her crutches. Catra gets to a part that Scorpia recognizes! “Ooh, ooh! Is this the dip?”

Catra nods. “And the part where I’d kiss Adora.”

“Sexy!” Scorpia praises.

“Yeah,” Catra says. “But also fun.”

Scorpia considers the time. “Wanna try one?”

Catra furrows her brow. “One..?”

“Dip,” Scorpia clarifies. “One dip. For fun.”

Catra shrugs. “Yeah, sure. Dips are fun, and rebelling is fun.”

It’s fun until you get caught, at least, and the door opens right in the middle of the dip, and the shock causes them both to  _ clonk _ their heads. Ow.

Scorpia hears laughter. “Were you two…  _ dancing _ !?” Adora laughs. Oh, good, she isn’t angry.

Catra defends them. “Dancing is fun, OK!?”

Perfuma, on the other hand, is angry. “You’re supposed to be  _ resting _ ! Dancing isn’t resting! You need to rest, or else you won’t get better!” And then she storms off, before any of them can say anything to her.

Scorpia looks to Adora for help. “But… We are getting better?”

Adora sighs. “Yeah, yeah, you are, but… Perfuma’s dad got sick with pneumonia and he… didn’t.”

Scorpia clicks her pincers. “I… didn’t know that.”

“I know,” Adora reassures her. “And Perfuma didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to get scared. You were very sick, Scorpia. For a while. You didn’t want to eat-”

“I told her,” Catra pipes up, from where she’s now returned to her bed. When Adora looks to Scorpia for confirmation, she nods.

Adora continues. “That doesn’t give Perfuma the right to lash out like that, but hopefully that doesn’t add confusion to the list of feelings happening here?”

Perfuma pokes her head back in, looking sheepish. Adora taps Catra, and they go out to have a meal in a different room to give the other couple some space.

“Hi, Perfuma,” Scorpia says. “I’m sorry for dancing when I’m supposed to be resting.”

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Perfuma returns. “Yelling doesn’t help anything.” Scorpia pats a Perfuma-sized spot in her bed next to her and moves Stuffy out of the way with her back-to-normal-dexterity pincers. “I yelled because I was scared. My dad died of pneumonia. He didn’t eat in the end, and I could only watch as he… wasted away… When you danced when you were supposed to be resting, I interpreted that as you not taking your illness seriously, like how I first interpreted you not telling anyone about your illness as you not taking your illness seriously.”

“I danced instead of resting because I was bored, and Catra was sad that she couldn’t dance at the ball. I wasn’t trying to be a bad patient. I was trying to be a good friend.” Scorpia considers. “Maybe there are ways to be both a good friend and a good patient?”

Perfuma hums in concentration. “Well… If you’re bored… Not everyone’s around, but we can get Bow and Glimmer to bring their collection of games. We can make it a regular thing until you and Catra are fully healed!”

Scorpia gasps, coughs, then continues gasping. “Really!? That would be great!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I was writing, and Catra gets whump too. She's fun to write. I mean, it's fun to make any character have to deal with being vulnerable, but especially characters whose very arc is "Expressing vulnerability is healthy, so do it, please!"


	6. There and Back Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Force Captain Princess Scorpia returns to The Fright Zone.

It starts with a whisper. Something niggling at the back of her brain:  _ It’s time to go back. _ There are a lot of things that whisper at Scorpia’s brain, though, so this new mantra is not unusual. Be the best friend you can be. Be a good representative of The Horde. Be a good representative of the Scorpioni. Prove that their trust was not misplaced. Make them proud of you. Make  _ her _ proud of you.

The primary “her” used to be Nanny: the gnarled old woman who raised Scorpia, who told her that nothing about her was a defect but everything was an opportunity: her clicking pincers, her twitching stinger, her massive growth spurt, her quiet compassion. Underneath, the same reassurance:  _ “You are their only option, my darling. Use that.” _

It is only now that Scorpia realizes that Nanny was not The Horde’s only option for childcare.

(And now that she knows— _ knew _ —Shadow Weaver, she is glad that she got the option she did.)

But now the primary “her” is Perfuma. Not that Scorpia doesn’t know that she doesn’t have other friends: friends who took a chance on her, friends who have put their trust in her, friends she wants to make proud of her. But Perfuma isn’t her friend. Oh, not  _ only _ her friend. Friendship + romance + sometimes sexual interest= girlfriend.

Or boyfriend. Or partner. But Scorpia tried those, so she can definitively say that she only wants girlfriends.

Er, girlfriend. One girlfriend. She’s tried to balance more than one person, but it’s too much for her.

Perfuma has many options for girlfriends, yet she picked her. That reassures Scorpia in a way that Nanny’s mantra never did.

_ It’s time to go back. _

No, it’s not Nanny’s whisper. It’s not Perfuma’s either. Scorpia thinks it’s her own voice. And yet it gets drowned out by the assertion of The Princess Alliance:  _ “The Fright Zone’s future is up to you, as its Princess.” _

She’s… She’s their only option, isn’t she?

But within that option, there are many choices, aren’t there? She can, as the Princess of The Fright Zone, live in Bright Moon and let The Fright Zone fade into memory, let the ghosts—of the Scorpioni, of The Horde, of an Etheria without stars in its sky, without the promise that every star has its own sky, with people looking up to imagine the memories of every twinkling light—fully claim it. She can, as the Princess of The Fright Zone, appoint a leader in her stead: Hordak or Perfuma or Glimmer or, hey, do Nettossa and Spinrella have kingdoms. She can, as the Princess of The Fright Zone, thrust the land entirely into a future, burying the past like bones.

_ It’s time to go back. _

Well, she certainly doesn’t want to do any of those things. So she says it at a Princess Alliance meeting: “It’s time to go back.”

“Go back  _ where _ ?” Glimmer asks.

“To The Fright Zone.”

A sharp intake of breath. “Yeah, that’s gonna be tough…” Scorpia looks confusedly. It’s Mermista. Well, she’s not going to argue with that, but is that statement a deterrent or..? “Power transitions are always tough…” The Princess of Salineas locks eyes with her. Scorpia instinctively looks away. “Which is why I’m coming with you.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that..!” Scorpia is saying it before she’s aware that she’s even talking, but, yeah, you go Scorpia, don’t dump your problems on your friends!

“That’s what I said too.”

Scorpia blinks rapidly. “When you went to lead The Fright Zone?”

“No. When I went back to Salineas. You know I haven’t been its Princess for too long. In fact, I’m the least experienced Princess here, in terms of actual time spent leading.” But… Scorpia’s gaze drifts towards Frosta. Frosta catches her gaze and… angry. Oh wow, she’s angry. Scorpia snaps her attention back to Mermista. “My dad retired, and he left Salineas in a  _ mess _ . It was so bad that I had to… step away. Go sailing.”

“I’ve never been sailing.”

Mermista cocks her head at her. “You don’t need to go sailing to be a Princess.” She looks around the room. “Who here has never been sailing?” Perfuma freely raises her hand, as does Entrapta—except she uses her hair as a hand. Frosta squeezes her eyes shut as she thrusts her own hand into the air. Mermista redirects her attention to Scorpia. “See? Proof.”

Scorpia gasps. “Wait, Entrapta! We  _ have _ been sailing. Remember when we went north to that excavation site with Catra..?”

Entrapta’s face splits into a grin. “Oh yeah! With that worm that went-”

“Hang on,” Adora cuts in. “That was for a  _ mission _ . Sailing is for fun.” She looks to Mermista. “Right..?”

Mermista nods. “And that’s not the main issue anyway. If you’re going to try to make The Fright Zone not a mess, you’re gonna need me there.”

“I agree that I shouldn’t go  _ alone _ -” Scorpia offers as a way to keep the peace. “-but I won’t be! My good friend Entrapta will come with me!” She turns to her friend. “Won’t you, Entrapta?” But… Entrapta puts up her welding mask. She only does that when she’s sad. “Entrapta?”

For some reason, everyone turns to Glimmer. Glimmer, for her part, groans. “You all agreed to it, and now, suddenly, I’m the bad guy!? I led the effort to delay Hordak’s community service in Beast Island!”

Scorpia furrows her brow. “But I don’t want Hordak to come with me. I want  _ Entrapta _ to come with me.”

Entrapta murmurs something from underneath her mask. Scorpia leans over the table to try to hear better, causing the holographic map of Etheria to fizzle. “Oh, sorry-”

“I SAID I NEED TO GO WITH HORDAK!” Entrapta shouts, then bolts out the door.

* * *

The rest of the meeting is a blur, drowned out by the pounding in Scorpia’s head, like the beating of a drum:  _ She won’t be going back, she won’t be going back, she won’t be going back. _

But  _ why _ ? Scorpia needs to know because… Because Entrapta was  _ sad _ about that, wasn’t she?

The Scorpioni woman creeps to Entrapta’s quarters—which, in true Entrapta fashion, she has converted into a lab. Scorpia’s friend is rocking in a swivel chair, knees drawn up to her chest, staring at a giant screen.

It kind of looks like… Beast Island?

“Oh, sorry.” Entrapta uses her hair to spin her chair to face her. “I can see you’re… getting ready to go. Not to The Fright Zone.”

“Not to The Fright Zone,” Entrapta echoes, and, yes, Scorpia knew it, she  _ is _ sad!

“Why are you going to Beast Island if you don’t want to?”

Entrapta pulls her welding mask over her face. “It’s complicated.”

“You’re  _ sad _ !” Scorpia highlights.

“I  _ do _ want to help you, and while I don’t understand why you’d ask  _ me _ for help, I can’t. There’s… something I need to do.”

Anger bubbles underneath her exoskeleton and something  _ bursts _ . “HORDAK CAN’T NEED YOUR HELP MORE THAN I DO!” And once it’s burst, it’s burst, no matter how much Scorpia scrambles to clean it up, to apologize for shouting, to assure her (Herself?) that she’s still a good friend.

Except… Entrapta doesn’t seem angry. “It’s not about Hordak. At least, not mainly.” The Princess of Dryl lifts herself up by her hair, peering over Scorpia’s shoulder at the closed door behind them. “You understand. You’re the only one who does.”

The Scorpioni woman blinks urgently, scouring for clues. “What? What do I understand?”

“That I did  _ terrible _ things.”

The instinct to deflect, to protect, sparks across her skin. “You’re not terrible!”

But Entrapta cuts her off. “I’m not a terrible person, but I did terrible things. There’s a difference. Terrible people want to keep doing terrible things. People who aren’t terrible have to do more than aren’t-terrible things. They need to work to heal the damage they’ve caused. They know better.  _ I _ know better.”

“But…” Oh, wow, her voice is cracking. “What if it’s too much work?”

Entrapta laughs.  _ Laughs _ ! “Between me and Hordak,  _ nothing _ is too much work! It will be hard, but…” She blushes. “It’ll make a difference.”

Something  _ clicks _ into place, the way only Scorpia’s pincers can when anxiety flutters in her breast.

_ It’s time to go back. _ Because it will be Scorpia, not the abandoning to the past, not some well-meaning but unknowing substitute, not some jettisoning into a murky future, that will make a difference. That will make a Fright Zone that isn’t, well, terrible.

“I… I… I wish you the best, Entrapta.” Wait, wishing? No! Entrapta doesn’t need to wish..!

But her friend is smiling at her, with her hair outstretched. “I know you’re a hugger-” she says. “-so would you like one before I go?”

Sometimes, a hug and an assurance that she is on the right path is all Scorpia wishes for.

* * *

Scorpia opens the door to Mermista’s quarters. “I need help,” she declares.

_ Splash _ ! Scorpia instinctively raises a pincer to shield her hair—She spends a lot of time making sure it’s ready for the day!—but she feels no water on her.

That’s because the bathtub Mermista is poking her head out of is on the far side of the room. “You didn’t really think my response to your plea for help would be to splash you, did you?”

“N-N-No!” the Scorpioni woman stammers, and she scuttles to the bathtub because Mermista doesn’t seem inclined to get out of it any time soon. “You’re my friend! I trust you!”

“Speaking of friends… You’re not, uh, backing out? Because Entrapta can’t come?”

“I won’t lie: I  _ did _ think about it.” Mermista looks… not happy. “But!” Scorpia clarifies. “I stopped thinking about it. The Fright Zone has been a source of well,  _ fright _ , for so long, and I might be the only one who has the power to change that!”

“Well, you sound confident,” Mermista says, smiling. “And  _ Entrapta’s _ absence nearly undid that confidence?”

Something is fit to burst inside Scorpia, and she must deflate it with words before it does. “I know you don’t understand, but you don’t understand! And it hurts when you—plural—say that Entrapta doesn’t matter. Because that’s what I hear…”

Oh, wow, Mermista is out of the bathtub. “You’re right. I don’t understand. I don’t understand Entrapta. I don’t even understand The Fright Zone. But I do understand the stress of taking command over what someone else has left behind, and I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to help make your vision as Princess a reality.” A beat, then. “I’ve been told that you like hugs…”

“You don’t have to hug me if you don’t want to!”

“I want to be helpful in any way I can. Goodness knows I needed help when I ascended the throne. And goodness knows that hugs aren’t a hard thing to help with.”

* * *

Bow and Glimmer equip them with communicator pads, lots of cereal, and Swift Wind.

“Swift Wind..!” the alicorn exclaims. “Delivering a Fright Zone leader people can get behind..!”

“That doesn’t rhyme,” Mermista deadpans.

“Inclined!” Scorpia yelps excitedly. “That rhymes with-” Wait, no, they’re trying to rhyme with  _ wind _ , not  _ behind _ .

“Swift Wind..! Delivering a Fright Zone leader people can get inclined..!”

Mermista groans. True to his song, Swift Wind delivers Scorpia and Mermista at the edge of The Fright Zone. Which is… entirely unrecognizable. Oh, wow, Scorpia hadn’t been able to pay attention—she was focused on reuniting with people—but she thinks fright has never been so far away from this land. Where there was once a craggy landscape marked by dried riverbeds and brown spires of piping, there is now the babbling of free magic and sprawling meadows. “Huh,” Swift Wind says. “This doesn’t look like a  _ Fright Zone _ anymore…”

“It isn’t,” its Princess announces. “Not anymore.” She steps to the edge of the precipice they are on—is this not where She-Ra purged the universe of Horde Prime once and for all? She scans the pink-hued horizon, and she does not see storms or ghosts or fright. She sees green: the green of new growth, stretching towards the future, rooted in fertilizing bones. “Welcome to Green Hill Zone.”

“Uh… That doesn’t seem…”

Scorpia turns on her heel to face Mermista. “I’m the Princess, aren’t I? Don’t I make the rules?” Before she can take it back—sorry, that was rude—Mermista is cheering for her assertiveness. But, wait, there’s something there in the rudeness. “Wait, no, I’m more than a Princess. I’m a  _ Force Captain _ .”

“Yeah… I think that’s my cue to leave….” Swift Wind flies away.

Mermista watches him for a second—longingly?—before swerving on Scorpia. “ _ What _ !? How is being a  _ Force Captain _ better than being a  _ Princess _ !?”

Scorpia plants her stinger in the ground like a tree standing firm against a river. “I didn’t say  _ better _ . I said  _ more _ . The Horde didn’t just come from Hordak. The Horde came from enough people feeling like they didn’t belong with Princesses. Those people claimed The Scorpion Kingdom and destroyed its crown.”

Mermista crosses her arms. “Crowns are magic. They’re nigh-indestructible. You’re being dramatic.”

Scorpia mirrors her countenance. “Am I? Follow me.”

* * *

Scorpia releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding. The green has seeped into Horror Hall too. Her grandfather’s bald head now has moss hair.

She giggles.

Mermista, for her part, steps closer towards her. “No need to be creeped out! No one’s here! No one’s been here since-” She ponders. “-well, me. When I decided to leave The Horde.”

“No one else living has been here for a long time. I can see how you’re worried about the ghosts. I can almost  _ feel _ them here.”

Scorpia blanches. “Who told you about the ghosts of the Scorpioni?”

The Princess of Salineas leans on one leg. “You told Catra, who told Adora, who told Bow, who told Sea Hawk, who told me.”

Oh. That tracks. “It was silly, OK?” she snorts. “Just like I told Catra. I was sick, you know.”

“Oh, we know. We all know. That’s why we delayed shipping Hordak off to Beast Island, you silly.”

“Oh, but..? Hordak didn’t take care of me..?”

“Oh, but  _ Entrapta _ did.” Oh!  _ Oh _ ! Oh wow, that’s so sweet, Scorpia could cry. Oh wow, she is crying. Oh wow, Mermista is hugging her. “And no wonder you got sick, you know? The stress of all the work you have to do… But… It looks like here’s a good model to start off of.”

Scorpia yanks herself out of the hug. “I say this as the last of the Scorpioni: The Scorpion Kingdom is  _ not _ a good model.” The name of its castle was  _ Horror Hall _ !

“OK, sorry, it’s not, but it  _ has _ to be better than The Horde.”

“Then why did The Horde win, huh!?”

“Because Hordak was stronger!”

“Wrong!” Scorpia barks. “Hordak didn’t do anything except growl, make threats, and work on a portal apparently! He may have been the face of The Horde, but its arms, its legs, its organs? Those were  _ people _ , Mermista, people who saw that the Princess model can use improving on: a clearer sense of upward mobility, a greater sense of protection… The Horde—the thing—was not good, but there are good things that came out of The Horde.”

Scorpia expects Mermista to be angry—The Horde laid siege to her native Salineas—but, to her surprise, she just looks… sad. “I don’t understand,” she confesses.

“Then we need some more help.” She pokes at the communicator pad Bow gave her, but it beeps. Angrily?

Mermista outstretches her hands. “How can I help?”

“I know people. People from The Horde. Who know its good and bad and made the decision for themselves to leave. It isn’t enough to know what you know. You also need to know when you don’t know.”

Mermista nods, determined. “Bow knows where a lot of former Horde soldiers ended up. I’ll call him. But…”

“But..?” Scorpia prompts.

“I don’t think your friends are therapists.”

“I don’t know what therapists are, so I’m going to say, no, they’re not.”

Mermista gasps. “There isn’t therapy in The Horde? How did any of you survive leadership, then?” Oh wow, Mermista sounds like Perfuma. “Therapy is… giving you the tools to be the best you you can be: an unconditional listening ear who will never tattle.” Huh. Scorpia’s friends all do have a bad habit of not keeping secrets. “I don’t claim to fully understand you, Scorpia, but I’ll tell you what I understand now: The best leaders have therapy at their backs, propelling them on, like a favorable wind.”

“Where do I get therapy?”

“I’ll refer you to my therapist. If you two don’t hit it off, they know other therapists who are equally qualified.”

Scorpia clicks her pincers. Mermista stares. “What?”

“What are you worried about?”

Scorpia looks at her clicking pincers, needing a moment to recalibrate herself by its sound before answering, “Being seen as… not the best me I can be. Doesn’t Green Hill Zone—the Scorpioni, what’s left of The Horde, the Princess Alliance—deserve the best me?”

Mermista shakes her head. “First of all, no one  _ deserves _ anything from you. Secondly, haven’t we hit you over the head with the power of friendship? You should know by now that you can’t reach your best self all by yourself!”

Best Scorpia: Force Captain Princess of Green Hill Zone! Current Scorpia wants that with all her heart!

“Gah, Glimmer is right: that face you make really is too cute! Quick, give me the names of your people, before my teeth start rotting!”

Teeth? Don’t people need those? “Sorry!” she gasps.

“It’s an expression. Sorry, it’s just…” Mermista shakes her head. “I’m surprised by how much I want to help you. Not just for the sake of there not being a Horde Part Two but for the sake of you being a good leader.”

“Sorry. I can see you don’t like surprises.”

Mermista narrows her eyes. “That’s not true. Sea Hawk is my boyfriend.”

Noted. She gives the names.

* * *

Bow learns that Kyle, Rogelio, and Lonnie are now living in The Crimson Waste. He gets in contact with Huntara, who summons the trio.

Who are now a quartet, excuse me!? “Baby!” Scorpia yelps. Kyle, who is wearing said baby, wraps his arms around the baby protectively. Rogelio bares his teeth at her, a growl beginning.

Lonnie shushes. “The baby is  _ sleeping _ !”

Well, not anymore, because their eyes blink open blearily. Yellow. Huh. The little hands grasp, and wings unfurl. Wait, wings!? “Where have I seen this baby before..?” Scorpia murmurs.

“Where have I seen this baby before..?” the baby echoes, pointing at the screen.

“Th-That’s Scorpia,” Kyle tells the baby. “She used to be in The Horde too.”

Lonnie crosses her arms. “And now she’s a Princess. Tell us: What does a Princess need with a quartet of ex-Horde soldiers anyway?”

Scorpia clicks her pincers. “It’s not  _ what does a Princess need _ ! It’s what does  _ Scorpia _ need! We’re… We’re still friends, right?”

Rogelio glares at Lonnie. “I mean, yes, we  _ are _ , Scorp, but we’re not Horde anymore! That’s the one thing we had in common!”

“I think that’s a pretty big thing, don’t you?” The three not-babies look at each other, silently deliberating the point amongst each other. “Here’s the thing: I’ve come back to Green Hill Zone.” Rogelio cocks his head. “Oh, The Fright Zone’s new name!”

“I like it!” Kyle comments.

“Me too!” Scorpia quips.

“Never mind the new name,” Lonnie interrupts. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the same underneath.”

“I don’t want it to be the same underneath,” Scorpia explains. “That’s why I want you guys’ help. I know as much about the Scorpioni-” At their confused looks, she summarizes. “-the power that was here before The Horde, as anyone left does, but, despite what the Princess Alliance people think, my experience with The Horde wasn’t really  _ The Horde experience _ . If I want to understand what was good about The Horde and what wasn’t—which I do—I can’t use my memories alone.”

The baby pipes up. “Help!” Kyle ruffles his hair.

“And… if it helps, I’m getting therapy to help too.”

The trio’s eyes widen. “Therapy?” Kyle squeaks. “That’s… a big step.”

“So I’ve been told!” Scorpia chirps. (Mermista didn’t say such a thing, but she remembers Catra. Catra who refused to be seen as weak, even as she crumbled…)

“You’re serious, then,” Lonnie says.

Scorpia salutes. “Force Captain’s honor!” Rogelio snorts, smiling. Kyle and Lonnie smile too.

“As long as you keep in mind that you’re not  _ only _ a Princess—and not only a Force Captain— Scorpia, you always will have honor—at least to us. We’re in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for joining me on this headcanon-tastic adventure! ^^ I've learned about some ND headcanons I never knew about before. :0 I hope this work will enable ND representation to continue to grow in this fandom!


End file.
